GOD or the SON of GOD?
Let us first acquaint ourselves with this wonderful story of Martha, and her sister and brother Lazarus of Bethany.
At the end we will then examine the simple Biblical facts, and see if Martha of Bethany CALLED Jesus GOD.
Our study will be in John 11,1 to 45. English Standard Version The Death of Lazarus
1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when he heard that Lazarusa was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?”
9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 So Thomas, called the Twin,b said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” I Am the Resurrection and the Life 17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off,
19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.dWhoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” Jesus Weeps 28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”
29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply movede in his spirit and greatly troubled. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept.
36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” Jesus Raises Lazarus 38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.
42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” Let us now examine the simple Biblical facts. Notice in verse 4: But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Biblical fact 1:
Jesus clearly DEFINES His Father as being GOD alone, and goes on to clearly DESCRIBE Himself, by saying: so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Notice there is nothing said by Jesus that He is GOD, but instead Jesus clearly clarifies He is the Son of God.
We move on to verse 22: Notice what Martha says to Jesus: But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
Biblical fact 2:
We now have Martha clearly DEFINING GOD the Father, as GOD alone by saying to Jesus: whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
Martha’s statement clearly agrees with what Jesus always taught, that His Father GOD was working the miracles THROUGH Him: 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?”
We now move on to the MAIN verse in John 11:27, where Jesus replies just before with this well-known statement: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
Biblical fact 3:
In one single statement by Martha we see and read her saying: “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God.
Notice the Greek word for BELIEVE in the Strong’s Concordance. pisteuó: to believe, entrust Original Word: πιστεύω Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: pisteuó Phonetic Spelling: (pist-yoo’-o) Short Definition: I believe, have faith in Definition: I believe, have faith in, trust in; pass: I am entrusted with.
Martha confirms: “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God.
Biblical fact 4:
Martha does NOT say: I believe you are God.
And Jesus does not say: You are wrong, I am GOD.
And Jesus does not say: You must believe, I am GOD.
Biblical fact 5:
From the start to the end of this wonderful story about Martha and her sister, and brother Lazarus of Bethany there is NOT a single inclination or statement or preference that Martha believed Jesus was GOD.
Biblical fact 6:
There was also NO mention whatsoever by Jesus, that He was GOD.
There was also NO mention whatsoever by Jesus, that Martha was wrong.
But instead, Jesus clearly DESCRIED Himself as being: the Son of His GOD.
Biblical fact 7:
BOTH Jesus and Martha clearly DEFINE GOD as being GOD alone.
But please hold on as we are saving the best till last.
Just before Jesus left with His disciples to meet Martha and her brother Lazarus at Bethany Jesus was accused by the rebellious Jews for blaspheming because they believed Jesus was claiming to be GOD.
John 30:33:
The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
If the rebellious Jews were correct, that Jesus was claiming to be GOD, why didn’t Martha agree and CALL Jesus GOD?
But instead Martha repeats an identical statement said by Jesus by saying: you are the Christ, the Son of God.
Was Martha present when Jesus corrected the Jews, saying:
36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
Or did Martha simply believe what Jesus only ever taught right from the beginning when Jesus said: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, John 3:16.
Lets STOP right there for a moment.
Notice GOD did not give Himself which would be the case if Jesus were already the SAME GOD but INSTEAD we read: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
DO YOU BELIEVE WHAT MARTHA BELIEVED, THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF HIS GOD? JOHN 11:27.
DO YOU BELIEVE WHAT JESUS BELIEVED, THAT HE IS THE SON OF HIS GOD? John 10:36.
OR DO YOU BELIEVE WHAT THE REBELLIOUS JEWS BELIEVED, THAT JESUS WAS CLAIMING TO BE THE SAME GOD HE CAME FROM?
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. John 3:
No comments:
Post a Comment